16x9 - Freeganism: Living off trash 

I grew up homeless from age 3 or so with my mom until around 11, and with the amount of bureaucracy surrounding food banks and other government agencies, the food in the dumpster is often fresher, and more healthy. I remember on one occasion, we went to the food bank and got two cans of tomato sauce, some peanut butter and a couple cans of "fruit cocktail", the next night my mom went dumpster diving and came back with practically fresh bananas and apples, packaged salad mix, day old bread, carrots and "expired" cliff bars. Let me tell you which of those two sources kept a small child from starving!

Freeganism ain't my cup of tea, but I'm not bashing these people, mad respect to them. Think of all the food we waste, and instead of it going in the trash, it's going into someone's empty stomach.

I don't care what anybody says they're not letting food go to waste I think it's awesome if there benefiting from it and staying healthy and not hurting anybody all the power to them I'm all for it that's awesome

I wouldn't dig through trash bags myself, but over here in France they dump chlorine through the bags thrown out by super markets and such to prevent scavengers and I find that despicable because MANY people could legit eat from that.

I work at Mac Donald, and they always trow away 10 trash bags full of fries, burgers, and missed placed orders of ice cream. And it absolutely shocks me till this day.. also they say they recycle.. lol they don't.

I'm inspired. I will.......shop more at local farmers markets. baby steps.

Picking flowers right by the path!? that definitely has been peed on🐕

This is incredible. I can’t believe we waste so much food when so many go hungry.

instead of throwing all that food out they should be loading it into vans and donating it to the local homeless shelters! Heck I would drive around for free and pick it up and donate it. Some shelters are strict about what they take, but I guarantee you a starving person with a family to feed wouldn't care if this is where the food came from. I understand the people who do this usually do it to save money, but there are so, so many people who could benifit from all that food! The stores who put locks on their dumpsters or purposely smash and ruin food so that people can't take it home sicken me too, they weren't going to get any money for it anyway so why stop people from taking it. It's not like people who are well off are just going to stop paying for groceries and dumpster dive anyway, they're not going to make less money.

The little purple flower is a clover! My sister and I used to eat them all the time when we were kids. You little tube-like petals are super sweet like candy.

The lady who got all her home stuff for free could at least touch up the stuff she gets. That piano is looking bad

I'd be concerned about bringing bugs into my home from the furniture

I work as a custodian in a mall. One of my jobs is to take out rubbish. Whenever I found something useful in the rubbish I take out, I keep it and reuse it, and I hate the mindless consumerism I see on the job. I guess I'm part freegan

Sadly its not so easy or even possible over here in the UK, at least in the region I live. The dumpsters are locked or sabotaged to stop needy people from 'dumpster diving'. Its a crazy world for sure. Years ago when I was younger, my brothers & I used to trek over fields & a wood at the back of our housing estate at night to the back of a foodstore that threw away vast amounts of edible good food, still in its packaging. We were struggling to get by on a miniscule budget & our weekly visits to this store's dumpster rewarded us with bag fulls of treats we could never afford to buy, it was fantastic. It made our mum happy too, she was suffering with severe depression as a single parent trying to make ends meet. We weren't doing any harm, not trespassing (the dumpster was in a public parking lot) or leaving any mess but eventually, the manager or one of the store workers realised what we were doing & put an abrupt stop to it by opening the packaging & throwing it all about the dumpster. I thought that was pretty darn low & mean. Still, it was fantastic while it lasted. Vast amounts of food are wasted, its unforgiveable when so many people are going hungry. Just idiotic.

Shops will not put food in separate bins for free because people will return it for refund or if they get food poisoning they sue the supermarket. There are always people looking to make quick and easy buck.

Some of the furniture found on city streets do have bed bugs so be careful!

I worked at a grocery store and I had to help take the trash out with my manager and he showed me all the food we waste in the grocery store.I question him why not donate it? He told me they weren't allowed to donate any off it due to policy issues. He didn't even agree to all the waste of food their was.

When I was a teenager I worked at a bakery, and every night we would throw out huge garbage bags full of bread and baked goods (i.e. cracked pies that were perfectly fine other than the cracked crust!). It was a real travesty! My coworkers and I would take stuff home but there was just too much. That was almost 20 years ago, and the waste level has probably doubled or tripled since then. Maybe I should take a late night stroll by that bakery's dumpster...

The edge of a path is the last place I would be picking wild food :)

I furnished my whole apartment from getting the. Stuff that people put on the sidewalk.I call it recycling.

This is actually kinda cool. I'm kinda touchy about things that might be "dirty" so it's a bit eh for me, but it would be something interesting to look into one day lol.

I used to work for a grocery store and it always broke my heart seeing all the good food that would go to waste. So this doesn't seem crazy to me!

This is beautiful ✨look how they come together

I'm on board with reusing or recycling definately.. I'm thrifty as well and many things in my home have been repurposed... However, anything that I can't "clean" completely or I am not sure how it was used (like a couch) I pass on.

It sounds gross, but... when I still had my poultry flock we went to the grocery store and asked the produce manager for their 'rotten' vegetables and fruits to give the birds in the winter when their yard had died off. He gave us box after box of stuff they were going to throw away, all still wrapped. The majority of it was better than the stuff still on the shelf in the store. The chickens only got about half of it...we ate the rest.

wow how nice they have a little free yard sale.. I wish we had something to help the poor like that.

I did it for a year and never got sick

the best thing I learned living in an apartment my whole life. We always had people in my building / neighbouring buildings throw really good furniture on the ground floor. I always make it a point to go around those area's to see if there's anything good, and it's saved me a LOT of money!

College kids be like... 😓

They must have impeccable immune systems! Me, I'd much prefer a minimalist lifestyle over this. Just buy good quality things you need that will last instead of fishing things out the garbage and becoming a hoarder because "it's free!".

2:06 those flowers are really good LMAO when i was younger maybe around 6-8 me and my friends would run around picking these flowers and what we did was pulled the petals out and sucked on the ends of them... we called them honey suckles

When he said "tossing a freegan salad" 😂😂😂

We go to the local "dump" - there is a warehouse where people donate items that are good for resale.You can get a sofa for £20 or a chair for £5! If the warehouse overflows they do everything for £1 for the day.

One of my Co-Workers found a Sectional Couch Set some Family was throwing away and took it Home with her thinking it was a great Find! Six Months later her House was infested with Bedbugs! It was due to the Sectional that she brought to her House without thinking and she thought she was saving Funds when all she was really doing was bringing in a big Bedbug Problem that cost her more Funds in the End! I believe when People throw Furniture, Pillows, and other Household Items out, it is for a Reason! As the old Saying goes, "Look before you Leap!"

I wouldn't do it, but I don't see anything wrong with what they're doing.

The whole idea of trading items online is actually genius.

I don't toss out unwanted items in the trash,,,I put the big items in front of my house and I put a sign that says Free on them. I take smaller items to a thrift store that supports a cat rescue. I take books and CD's to the library. I'm starting to gather up clothes and will probably give them to a thrift store that supports a homeless shelter. Too much is wasted now days. It still seems to me that non perishables and bakery goods could be donated to a food bank.

"Tossing a freegan salad" 😂😂😂 that word choice tho

One time I went to the trash of Panda Express and found a receipt. I took their online survey and turned in the receipt for free food. It was a great feeling to get free food. But, i'm too afraid to do this in the video.

I work at Dunkin’ Donuts they throw a wad BAGS of donuts and bagels at the end of the day instead of giving it to the homeless

I worked at a grocery store, the amount of quality food we had to toss in the bins each week was horrifying.

I understand the concept, but there is something about picking through garbage for food that grosses me out.

4:30 those piano keys are disgusting 👀🤢🎹

fabulous!! I love how they share amungst each other!!

i just kept hearing "friggin'"

If they want everyone to be freegan. Freegans wouldn't have anything because no one would be throwing anything away. They would just reuse things till they're unusable or inedible.

I once picked up a fabulous handbag next to the bins, it still had the price tag on it!

I shop at whole Foods and overheard two men who worked there talking about the enormous amount of produce they throw out ....I wanted to cry.

I used to love going to the local dump with my Dad and finding 'treasures' - we were never allowed to touch organic materials, but we got loads of stuff from the dump, furniture, toys, books - everything - it was great. One time we found a huge box of shoes, we shod the entire street I think! Great fun - recycling at its best!

i've lived in NYC for 8 years. its really not that uncommon to see people taking furniture decor and useful house hold items from the trash. Hey i have a desk that we got from the garbage and its really good and new. But food is a little to much

doing it for free electronics and furniture is ok, but dumpster diving for food to pinch a penny is going too far🍔🍟😲

I work at a health food grocery store and yeah they donate all our out of date food to the local food bank, because they get a kick back in taxes so... This kind of thing might stop when they find they can do that instead. Also, we put the items that are going out of date soon down to a half off clearance price. You do have to be careful what food you get out of those trash bins, because we only throw away the moldy, really bad food. We also have locked bins for cattle feed, that we put items that are stale or opened or damaged in to. We have a really tight system.

A Very smart way to SURVIVE👍🙏✌

being poor and being stupid are not the same

That donation bin is not a shopping bin though...those were donated...not for freegans I think

If I was able bodied I'd be right outside with them digging in the trash just to save a dollar.

Eww so disgusting Nooo im not talking about them im talking about our system

In my area local supermarkets donate their end of the day bread to those who need it threw a charity. Some smaller places donate veggies etc to low cost food centres or other items, if safe to do so this should be mandatory

Why not just give the food etc away. People should not have to dumpster dive.

I've eaten out of a dumpster but that was because I was homeless!

business, food stores and private residents should make it easier for us by putting this stuff neatly to the side, I've seen people throwing away all kinds of good stuff but it's mixed in with the trash so nobody wants to dig into it.

I've repurposed furniture from trash piles, but I'd never eat out of the bins. bugs.....buuuuugs. lol

What about bed bugs and mites ? Or someone knows you that way and put posion in the food idk man

I love that lady @ the end giving out roses to random people,just something nice about it.

there was a school district or a restaraunt i cant remember which it was but the point is they used to give free food to the homeless until one of the homeless sued because he got sick.... so... no more free food for the homeless

She has her son and husband living in someone's filth because she wants to "fight the system" but she has a MacBook. OOOOOKAY.

I don't think it's a good idea to eat food from a trash bin, you never know what's thrown in there.

I just watched a good show and in San Francisco people get food from the trash get fresh food and have a free food dinner for anyone who wants to eat together. Great idea.

why aren't people donating this food to charity? it's all good that these people are finding free food but...

I really respect this. I know this video is a few years old but there's no harm in saving money, being frugal and reusing and repurposing things that others would throw away. Just don't allow it to become hoarding which it does for SOME people. It's a shame how much gets thrown away.

duuude all those bageeels

IF I needed to do this, I would. My mom has a girlfriend that goes "junking" picking up furniture mostly and revamping and fixing it. It is *cleaned* and*cared* for and either kept it given to someone else in need.

what a beautiful salad.

I use to work at a restraunt and the amount of food thrown out was shocking.the good thing was me and the rest of the employees were aloud to take food home.I me and every one els would fill up our plants but still there was so much food.

I'm Canadian but im originally from Zimbabwe. Two very different worlds. I'm ashamed to say I'm getting sucked into the consumerism, I should know better. The majority of people back in Zimbabwe survive day to day, never knowing where their next meal is coming from.

I found this video actually informative and interesting

Does anyone have a clue how much energy and resources, not to mention inhumane treatment, goes into raising and slaughtering a chicken or in this case many chickens? Only to choose the finest Grade A with no imperfections, roast it and then throw it away. What a stupid system. Shame on US for creating this horrible waste.

I worked at a subway restaurant that was adjacent to a Starbucks. We shared a dumpster space and they ALWAYS threw away tons of food that still looked good. All of those fancy food sets they sell for like 7 bucks were in the trash! Treats, cookies, etc. Always a ton of them!

Her flowery salad is beautiful!

The NYC part, unrefrigerated meat and veggies? Can you spell salmonella???

This is amazing! I wouldn't do it, but I really admire them.

I definitely wouldn't eat freegan food out of someone's nasty freegan trash. People can contract diseases, bacteria, & illnesses. They have no idea what they're putting into their bodies & what's contaminated or contains dangerous chemicals. God bless them though for everything they do for the environment and helping so many people❤ I just couldn't put something in my body that's meant to be healthy, but has garbage juice and boogers all up in it.

Growing up in a college town it was and still is a normal thing to put things out by the curb for others to take as they wish, old furniture etc. We were grateful that others could find use in the objects we no longer needed. Trust me nothing stayed by the curb for more than a few hours. Naively years later when I was married and bought my first house out on the edge of town, far away from traffic, I placed a sleeper sofa out on the curb and called the city to pick it up (it was a separate dept. not the sanitation department). They didn’t come the day they said and it got rained on then when they came the next day they crushed it. I was so dismayed, I foolishly thought they were going to take it somewhere I don’t know where but it just never crossed my mind that it would be destroyed. Like I said I was naive. I am happy to pass on anything I have that is useful.

It's crazy how much food gets trashed in America. I was looking for food donations for shelters and the biggest reason I got why they don't? They would rather trash it,than risk getting sued!?!? Crazy right?

I have found $300, or more, cheese of all types found in supermarket bin, fruits, veggies, much still edible, packages of all types, cans of all types of food, boxes of detergents...anything you can imagine. The amount of waste, is deplorable. I wanted to take photos, publish a book, on the amount of still usable goods, are disposed. Unfortunately, bins are now locked, have for years, because of messes left or some people's attitudes, who resent items obtained for free.

Well, I think its a good beginning to also becoming a hoarder. :) have fun.

Until you run into a NYC rat the size of a cat

Going to take a dump inside an empty peanut butter jar. Freegan finds it "Oh FREASH peanut butter!"

lol the lady who just eats mangoes and bagels.

Everything free ain't good for you, though. Upholstered furniture tossed on the street can have bedbugs or fleas, and discarded food can be spoiled. Use discretion and your best judgment.

I really love learning why people do the things that they do. It helps to be understanding to the best of your ability instead of just judging.

That salad look great though 👅

I'll be thrifty, but I will NOT be getting anything from the trash. I don't judge anyone, it's just not for me

Damn at 11:09 lady was killing that mango!

This was a really great lesson I learned from this, all that should be given away for free to the people that are starving. This was a inspirational documentary.

I love the concept of the free market. Every city/town should do this. People throw away so many useful items on the daily. Just simply from an environmental view alone... this waste needs to stop! I am joining the movement!

I work at a Café and we can't donate our food because someone might sue. I'll personally hand pastries/packaged items out if I know they "expire" on that day.

The purple things are clover, flowers. Very tasty.

I have no shame in saying that yes I do dumpster dive and yes I have consumed food found in dumpsters. Even now I consume food found in dumpsters. I thank God for the wastefulness of others because when I got out of the military and was screwed over tremendously. I probably would not be alive if I had not been given a sandwich found in the trash. To all freegans please keep doing what you are doing because it was one of you who fed me. Give thanks.

That salad looks so aesthetically pleasing 😩